Goto Hitori really disliked the name [Hitori Bocchi].
It made her sound like she was especially lonely, without any friends.
Faced with a nickname she disliked, Goto Hitori chose to bravely say...
"O-Okay... O-Okay..."
Well, she didn't have the courage to refuse at all.
Tanaka Masao found it a bit amusing to see Goto Hitori looking somewhat wronged and unhappy, yet too timid to resist.
"I feel like I've found a very fun toy."
"Never mind, that name feels a bit awkward to say. I'll just call you Bocchi-chan."
"Bo... Bocchi-chan..."
Hearing that name, Goto Hitori was quite happy.
"Bocchi-chan sounds much better, and it's my first time being called that. Such an intimate address feels like something only good friends would use."
She almost couldn't control herself from letting out a silly giggle.
She took a deep breath and asked, somewhat tremblingly.
"Th-Then... what should I call you?"
"You said it, Hitori, you've taken another step forward in communicating with strangers."
"We seem to be the same age, you don't need to use honorifics with me."
Tanaka Masao said very kindly.
Hearing Tanaka Masao's words, Goto Hitori nodded stiffly, thinking inwardly.
"This person seems very friendly. If he's my first friend, I think I can do it."
But Tanaka Masao's next words caught Goto Hitori off guard.
"You can just call me Tanaka-sama."
"Didn't he say I didn't need to use honorifics? Calling him Tanaka-sama feels even more excessive than using honorifics."
Faced with Tanaka Masao's contradictory words, Goto Hitori chose to...
"O-Okay, I understand, Tanaka-sama."
Goto Hitori couldn't refuse.
"How interesting."
Being called Tanaka-sama made Tanaka Masao feel great.
He, Tanaka Masao, had been at the bottom of the food chain almost constantly since transmigrating to this world.
He didn't expect to meet a beautiful girl today who called him Tanaka-sama.
Looking at the timid, trembling Goto Hitori, Tanaka Masao's face broke into an excited smile, and his eyes seemed to glow with a thrilled red light.
"Bocchi-chan is so cute, it's probably okay if I bully her a little more, right?"
Just as Tanaka Masao was getting a bit too excited and was about to lay hands on the cute, weak, and helpless Goto Hitori, a voice successfully pulled him back from the abyss.
"Attention, passengers, the train will soon arrive at the station."
Tanaka Masao snapped back to reality.
"What was I thinking just now, to suddenly have such thoughts?"
He looked at Goto Hitori, who was kneeling on the ground with a weak expression.
"It must be because Bocchi-chan looks so easy to bully that I couldn't help myself.
She's the type who can inadvertently stir up desires in people's hearts. Could she be a succubus?"
Cute Bocchi-chan, born to be bullied.
Tanaka Masao shook his head, temporarily discarding the strange thoughts in his mind, and said to Goto Hitori on the ground.
"Can you walk on your own? The train is coming."
"Train?"
It was only then that Goto Hitori belatedly realized she was no longer on the train. She looked around, found herself in an unfamiliar environment, and immediately panicked.
"Where is this? When did I get off the train? How do I get back?
Waaah, Dad, Mom, Nijika, I might never see you again…"
Seeing Goto Hitori looking left and right, with tears in her eyes and about to deform, Tanaka Masao probably guessed what she was thinking and spoke up.
"Alright, stop standing there dumbfounded, follow me."
Tanaka Masao's commanding words made Goto Hitori temporarily suppress her various emotions and quickly get up to follow Tanaka Masao's steps.
Arriving at the train, Tanaka Masao pointed to the train route map and asked Goto Hitori.
"Check how many more stops you have."
Goto Hitori looked up and quickly saw two familiar station names: one near her home and one near her school.
Seeing the familiar stations, Goto Hitori let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew, that's great, I can go to school and go home normally. But...
I actually got off at an unfamiliar station just now. This kind of breaking the routine is really exciting."
Tanaka Masao looked at Goto Hitori, who was standing still and giggling foolishly after getting on the train, and couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"Sure enough, Bocchi-chan's mental state has some issues; she easily thinks about all sorts of random things.
Unlike me, my mind only thinks about lewd things."
"Come, sit here."
"Okay."
Goto Hitori obeyed Tanaka Masao's instructions and followed him to a double seat in the corner of the train.
This state of just needing to follow others' instructions and not having to think or make decisions for herself was simply wonderful.
After sitting down, Tanaka Masao took the initiative to speak.
"Bocchi-chan."
"Yes, I'm here, Tanaka-sama."
Goto Hitori responded almost immediately as Tanaka Masao called her name, as if she was always on standby.
Listening to Goto Hitori's address for him, Tanaka Masao felt quite good, but also a little unaccustomed.
In his opinion, being called a 'fat pig' or 'hentai' felt more impactful than being called Tanaka-sama.
"Maybe it's because I'm more humble, I don't like being on top, I prefer being on the bottom."
"Never mind, from now on you can just call me Tanaka, Tanaka-kun, or Masao. Don't call me Tanaka-sama anymore, I don't really like it."
"Okay, Tanaka-sama, I understand, Tanaka-sama."
As the words left her mouth, Goto Hitori realized her mistake.
"Ah, no, it's Tanaka, Tanaka-kun, Masao."
Tanaka Masao: ...
"You don't need to use three names at once. Never mind, just call me Tanaka."
It was simpler to just command Goto Hitori than to give her choices.
"Yes, Ta... Tanaka!"
Hearing Goto Hitori's address, Tanaka Masao nodded with satisfaction.
This address felt more natural.
After resolving the issue of addressing each other, Tanaka Masao asked.
"Bocchi-chan, which station do you get off at?"
"Shuka University Station."
"Shuka University."
Tanaka Masao looked at the train route map.
They were currently at the southernmost part of Tokyo, while Shuka University was at the northernmost part, with Chiba just one stop further.
He then estimated the distance from his home to Shuka University and found that it was only about twenty minutes by train.
Goodness, his home was even closer than Goto Hitori's.
Seeing that it would still take about an hour to reach their destination, Tanaka Masao initiated a conversation.